Thierry Neuville and Hyundai united for a 12th consecutive year in 2025

For several tests, the answer was always the same when it came to the subject of contracts. We are in discussions ", promptly evacuated both parties. As the Acropolis launched the final sprint of the WRC 2024, the situation becomes clearer with the signing of an additional year of collaboration between Thierry Neuville et Hyundai.

« We are pleased to confirm Thierry Neuville alongsideOtt Tänak for our 2025 FIA World Rally Championship campaign, Explain Cyril Abiteboul. The decision to keep this competitive duo at Hyundai Motorsport underlines our commitment to the series in 2025, where we will once again aim for the three championship titles. Thierry has been with Hyundai Motorsport since the very beginning and has proven invaluable to the team, both on the race track and in the factory, over the last 11 years. With him and his navigator Martijn Wydaeghe now committed for next season, we have all the ingredients needed to continue to compete at the highest level of our sport. »

Present since the launch of the project and the first events in 2014, the 36-year-old Belgian will therefore compete in a 12^e consecutive season for the Korean manufacturer. Driving the different vintages of the i20 and through several technical regulations, the driver from Saint-Vith has won 20 victories, 59 podiums and 371 fastest times. Martijn Wydaeghe, who has been his co-driver since the 2021 Monte-Carlo, will also be part of the adventure.

« I am very pleased to extend my contract with Hyundai Motorsport for the 2025 season, declared Thierry Neuville. There aren’t many partnerships in motorsport that last as long as ours, but since 2014 we’ve enjoyed great success together. I’ve said before that this team has become a second family to me, and our ambition and drive have only grown year on year. It would be a great honour to win our first drivers’ title with them at the end of this season, and to continue that momentum into a twelfth year together. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. »

From Abiteboul's words, it appears that Ott Tänak will also be there next year. This very successful duo will be joined by a 3^e car whose crew or crews have not yet been revealed. Given the results of recent races, the French boss had hinted that he could line up a single driver alongside the Belgian and the Estonian.

This signing for a single season raises questions about what's next? Should we conclude that Hyundai won't go any further? Should we give credence to the latest fashionable rumor that claims that the Rally1 commitment would be through a private team? So far, the arrival in WEC of the Alzenau-based structure has not yet been confirmed. The versions diverge on the name (N? Genesis?) that will be used, on the location and even the way to achieve it (LMP2 then Lmdh?). The only thing that is certain, and it is excellent news, is that Thierry Neuville will still be at the wheel of an i20 Rally1 which should have progressed compared to the current one. It remains to be seen whether it will carry the N°1…